I have been using Look Keo for two years now and I seriously suck at clipping in. I stop at a road crossing, getting out is no problem. I just seem to have a hard time getting the cleat lined up. When I try to just get up to speed and clip in later, my foot slides right off. On my mountain bike (and CX) I use eggbeaters, which have four ways system so those are no brainer to get into. I just don’t understand why I can’t get efficient at clipping in. Someone suggested Speedplay, so I bought a used pair on ST last week (light-action). Much much easier, but I need the Zero’s to restrict float. Speedplays don’t seem all the popular among triathletes. I either. I think they were WAY behind in count at Kona 2012 and last weekend I walked around and barely saw any.
Take a look at how the pedal hangs naturally, it’s slightly upside down. I typically only unclip my left foot, and when I’m clipping back in, make sure to “catch” or “push” the front of the pedal with the front of the cleat so in that motion, it flattens out against the bottom of my shoe naturally. Most of the time, it just naturally will clip in right away, sometimes I will need to wiggle slightly since it isn’t lined up well enough. I don’t like speed plays because of the small surface area while pedaling. Maybe it’s psychological since it would seem if you have good shoes, the whole shoe becomes the pedal once clipped in, but idk, I like the wider surface of the look and spd-sl systems
I have been using Look Keo for two years now and I seriously suck at clipping in. I stop at a road crossing, getting out is no problem. I just seem to have a hard time getting the cleat lined up. When I try to just get up to speed and clip in later, my foot slides right off. On my mountain bike (and CX) I use eggbeaters, which have four ways system so those are no brainer to get into. I just don’t understand why I can’t get efficient at clipping in. Someone suggested Speedplay, so I bought a used pair on ST last week (light-action). Much much easier, but I need the Zero’s to restrict float. Speedplays don’t seem all the popular among triathletes. I either. I think they were WAY behind in count at Kona 2012 and last weekend I walked around and barely saw any.
Am I missing some secret to the Looks?
The huge problem with Speedplays is they’re very hard to walk/run because a) the cleats don’t have a grip option so you might as well be ice skating if trying to walk/run on a hard surface, b) the cleats are very bulky which makes walking/running more difficult, and c) the cleats can get all gunked up when walking in grass or dirt. Basically, they’re a T1 or T2 nightmare. This is certainly mitigated if you clip your shoes into your pedals but that’s not an option at many races (like IM).
I love the Speedplay pedals and the theory behind their cleat system. I use them on my road bike. They suck ass for me when it comes to triathlon. The Look Keo Grip cleats work 1000x better for me.
I used to have look on all my bikes then got fed up with missing a few clip ins at big crit races and went to speedplay. No real difference in performance that i can tell, love the adjustability, and clipping in is very easy. I think most shops tend to push speedplay on roadies and just consider look to be the “triathlon” pedal without really thinking. Most guys in my area who are pretty serious riders have speedplay or dura ace pedals, very few look pedals.
I think it also helps to be in the right gear when you start pedaling from a stop.
Like the other guy said, notice how the pedal is waited toward the back so that when you’re at a stop, the pedal hangs vertically with the back closest to the ground. Ideally, you’d hit the front of the cleat on the top of the pedal when you clip in so that the pedal rotates horizontally and your cleat slides right in.
But, if you’re in too low a gear, your pedal stroke occurs very quickly and the pedal will spin before you have a chance to flip the pedal and clip in.
Too high a gear and you’re going to have a hard time getting the pedals moving.
When I’m at a light I give the car in front of me an extra 3 feet or so. That way when the light turns green I have chance to clip in and balance to be ready to go when the car starts moving. ie, I don’t have to hurry the pedal stroke trying to clip in real quick.
And as for the speedplays having no grip, ALWAYS get the keo grip cleats. There is absolutely no way I am going to be running through transition in my no-grip cleats.
I use Speedplay but hate them for triathlon for reasons stated above. They are easy to get in and out of though. I think I’d rather have a broader base to clip into and something easier to walk/run in T1/2 would be great. I have tried Dura Ace and don’t care for them. Never tried Look. What about Time? Are the new pedals worth looking at?
I thought after years of using mtb cleats I’d have little problem switching to shimano road cleats which I think work similar to the looks, but I had the same problems as you. I think I am finally getting the hang of it, the trick is to move the shoe into the cleat in a totally different way - keep the shoe fairly parallel to the ground and approach the pedal from the rear so the front cleat hooks onto the pedal before pushing down. Conversely, when I use mtb type cleats I point my toe down and approach the pedal from the top.
They’re just terrible for clipping in. I’ve ridden clipless since the first Looks and never had issues with any pedals but the Keo. Only tip I can give is to come in with your foot low, from the back rather than trying to step on top of it. And do the clip in first, don’t try to pedal. Basically push half rotation with the “in” foot and clip in the “out” foot in one movement. Of course this makes the flying mount less effective.
No real problem . Just toe in and press down carefully. Although I rarely ever unclip during a ride unless it’s bathroom break or mechanical. I do track stands and practice my balance at lights and stop signs as needed. Definitely harder on the forward TT bike postion than a road bike. Sometimes it’s easier to do standing up than sitting too.
sometimes I’m great at clipping in.
sometimes I suck at it.
can’t figure out any rhyme or reason for the difference. Sometimes it just snaps right in without any thought. other times I fiddle with it for what seems like 10 seconds.
I’ll echo some of the posters above…
Usually I have no problems, but if I’m actually thinking about clipping in it gets harder.
I can’t think of any tips, but what I do when I get going is flick the pedal forward with the toe of my shoe, then as the shoe moves forward over the (now flat and right-side up) pedal the cleat catches against the “hook” at the front and then I push down. Clicks right in.
… unless I’ve flicked the pedal right over and then my cleat is on the curved back of the pedal. Not a problem - start pedalling and repeat clip-in procedure.
Raced crits and RRs this season, all with the Mavic pedals (Look style). Never had a problem, except when I’m an idiot and miss on the first try - then it spins and spins, leaving me motionless, looking like a damn fool, waiting for it to reorient so that I can get my cleat in.
But, if I really focus, it’s almost always a 1 or 2 second task.
The problem is particular with the Keo range, due to lack of thought in the design. The pedal dose not have the correct weight displacement, so any force on the pedal send the other pedal spinning, unlike previous models. I am thinking of either changing back to my 20 year old Look Carbons or going over to SPEEDPLAY!